Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute makes 6 technology transfers this year.

Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences (SCTIMST) has transferred 6 technologies to the industry during this year. SCTIMST, which has a long history of Technology Transfers and commercialisation of medical devices and biomaterials, believes that the research and development is complete when the products reach the patient population, a release said on Monday.

Till the publication of this issue of Maverick News 30, the Institute has to its credit 90 Technology Transfers. The Institute holds 248 Indian patents, 28 foreign patents and 84 design registrations.

The following technologies were transferred to the industry during this year –

• “Deep Brain Stimulator” to the Shree Pacetronix Ltd, Madhya Pradesh,

• “Intracranial and subdural electrodes and Plasma Proteins- Fibrinogen, Thrombin Albumin and IVIG” to the Synapticore Technology Pvt Ltd,

• “Chitosan based antioxidant polymeric wound dressings for controlled antibiotic delivery” to the Vranova Biotech Pvt Ltd, Mumbai and

• “Mice Transfer and Enrichment Box Tunnel System with securing gates” to the Citizen industries, Gujarat.

The institutes dedicated research team’s work tirelessly to create solutions that address pressing healthcare challenges, improving patient outcomes and saving lives.

The following technologies were linked with the medical device industry for Technology Transfer / collaborative development:

(1) Deep Brain Stimulator — The indigenous development of a Deep Brain Stimulator for managing movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and dystonia represents a meaningful stride in India’s biomedical innovation landscape.

The project was initiated with support from the Technical Research Centre of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, and was conceptualized and mentored by Dr. Asha Kishore, an eminent movement disorder specialist and former Director of SCTIMST. The development was led by Er. Muraleedharan C. V, Scientist ‘G’ (Senior Grade), Division of Artificial Internal Organs & Dr. Jithin Krishnan, Engineer ‘D’, Division of Medical Instrumentation from Biomedical Technology Wing and Dr. Syam K, Professor, Neurology & Dr. Krishnakumar K, Professor & Head of the Department, Neurosurgery from Hospital wing, along with a multidisciplinary team from the Biomedical Technology Wing, in close technical collaboration with the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre.

After extensive design, integration, and validation efforts, the team has successfully realised the proof of concept for an indigenous DBS system tailored to national healthcare needs. The technology is now being transferred to Shree Pacetronix Limited, India’s leading and only indigenous manufacturer of cardiac pacemakers, with a strong track record in implantable medical devices.

This collaborative achievement aims to deliver affordable, high-quality neurostimulation solutions, reducing reliance on imported systems and paving the way for self-sustained medical advancements in the country.

(2) Intracranial and subdural electrodes – are critical tools in neurology — essential for electrocorticography and targeted cortical stimulation. But globally sourced electrodes are prohibitively expensive, limiting access in many parts of the world. To address this need, an indigenous development initiative was launched, supported by the Technical Research Centre of the Department of Science and Technology, Led by Dr. Jithin Krishnan, Engineer ‘D’, Division of Medical Instrumentation, Er. Muraleedharan C. V, Scientist ‘G’ (Senior Grade), Division of Artificial Internal Organs from the BMT Wing of SCTIMST, and Dr. Ram Shekhar N. Menon, Professor, Neurology Dept from the Department of Neurology, this collaborative effort marks a major leap in Indian neurotechnology.

Plasma Proteins Fibrinogen, Thrombin Albumin and IVIG – Plasma is a rich source of proteins which are having high therapeutic potential. This technology is small scale fractionation of plasma to obtain four plasma proteins Fibrinogen, Thrombin, Albumin, and Immunoglobulin. Fibrinogen concentrate and thrombin are two major proteins of blood plasma. These proteins, result in a clot when mixed in a specific concentration. It has enormous potential in the preparation of wound healing matrices, tissue adhesives and haemostats. Albumin is used as a replacement therapy in cases where blood volume loss occurs, liver diseases and cancer. Two main uses for IVIG are as replacement therapy in primary or acquired antibody deficiency disorders and as immunomodulatory agents in patients with autoimmune or inflammatory conditions and has enormous potential

The technology is now being transferred to Synapticore Technologies Private limited, Delhi — enabling scalable, cost-effective solutions in neuro-intervention, empowering Neurocare, Made in India.

(3) Chitosan based antioxidant polymeric wound dressings for controlled antibiotic developed here is an advanced wound care material intended for treating chronic and infected wounds. Dysregulated reactive oxygen species levels are a central pathological feature of chronic wounds leading to infection and other damages. It introduces an advanced wound care product that scavenge excess reactive oxygen species and can deliver drugs to the wound site as per the need. This material possesses good absorbent properties, and can deliver drugs to the wounds directly for a period of 48 hours.

The chitosan sponges will not be preloaded with drugs. Depending on the need the clinicians can choose the appropriate drug for patient care which can be loaded onto these materials by a simple mechanism. This dressing can be beneficial for faster wound healing owing to free radical scavenging and the localised delivery of the antibiotics to the wound site which also reduces the risk of systemic toxicity when administered orally or parenterally.

The PI is Dr. Rekha M, Scientist ‘G’, Division of Bio surface Technology and Co-investigators are Dr. Anilkumar T. V, Scientist ‘G’, Experimental Pathology, Dr. Maya Nandkumar, Scientist ‘G’, Division of Microbial Technology, Dr. Harikrishnan V S, Scientist ‘G’, Division of Laboratory Science. It was funded by TRC, Department of Science & Technology. The technology was transferred to Vranova Biotech, Mumbai.

(4) Mice Transfer and Enrichment Box-Tunnel System with securing gates – Laboratory mice constitute over 87% of the total laboratory animals used in research. Avoiding stress during handling is a scientific requirement as the data produced from stress-free rodents can be precise and authentic.

As a routine technique, lifting mice gripping on to their tails had been a conventional approach and this method has drawn severe criticism because it produces stress and anxiety in laboratory mice.

The novel product to bring in animal welfare was invented by Dr VS Harikrishnan, Scientist ‘G’, Division of Laboratory Science and Er. Arvind Kumar Prajapati, Engineer ‘D’, Division of Artificial Internal Organs, SCTIMST was transferred to the Citizen Industries Ahmedabad.

The test results using this device shows that it cannot only reduce stress during handling and cage shifting of animals, but also act as an enrichment material inside the cage to reduce fighting behaviour and other unwanted behaviour observed in laboratory mice.

The technology was transferred to industrial partner Synapticore Technology private limited. The current PI is Dr. Anugya Bhatt, Scientist ‘G’, Division of Thrombosis Research and the former PI is Dr. Lissy K. Krishnan retired scientist from SCTIMST and other team members are Dr. Renjith P. Nair, Scientist ‘D’, Dr. Amita R, Additional Professor, Department of Transfusion Medicine.

For meeting the regulatory requirements in biocompatibility evaluations, as per international standards ISO 10993, a Proof of Concept project under TRC is completed at Calibration Cell, SCTIMST for the development and standardization of in house Reference Biomaterials or RMs. CSIR-NPL is the India’s “National Measurement Institute” by the act of Parliament and is the custodian of “National Standards” with a responsibility of realisation, establishment, and dissemination of standards at par to international level. SCTIMST by holding hands with CSIR-NPL can serve the unaddressed regulatory requirements of the medical device development industry, and researchers by providing APEX level standards as Certified Indian Reference Materials with trade name Bharatiya Nirdeshak Drvava.

The team from SCTIMST are Leena Joseph, Engineer ‘G’, Calibration Cell & colleagues and from CSIR – National physical laboratory (NPL) are Dr. SP Singh and colleagues.

Team maverick.